Advice on Constant pestering please

kot

Hi There

I was just wondering if somebody could give me some advice on an ongoing problem we are having with a debt collection agency.
The company phoned my wife late last year regarding a debt which is approx 8-10 years old, she was threatened with the usual lines and agreed over the phone to set up a payment plan initially she was worried about telling me this but I eventually found out only for alarm bells to ring because this appeared by my records to be a duplicate of a debt already settled... I then disputed this ...cue a massive ongoing pestering campaign.
I sent my reciept of settlement to the company in question but they would not accept this as it had a different ref number (the company I settled the debt with used there own ref and were not able to provide me with the original account number) credit company and amount the same.
The company that are currently chasing me are telling me that they are communicating with the original creditor Aktiv Kapitol Ltd which I find hard to believe after 8-10 years and that the account I have settled is seperate to the account they are chasing however they have provided no proof of this upon request.
I finally sent a letter out lining that the the store card debt of £500 would come under statute barred legislation anyway as no written communication or payment has been made on the account since 2002... They have told me that because my wife agreed over the phone initially to the debt that it is now legally acknowledged and if I dispute this they will find a phone recording of the conversation... is this correct / allowed ?

Any help most appreciated

Thanks

fermi

No a phone recording does not count. They are telling fibs.

Also, if the debt was already statute barred by then, then it stays that way. No acknowledgement of the debt after the 6 years has passed can unbar it.

ISASIPPMan

Keep all correspondence in writing. Set out in a letter exactly why you feel you have settled the debt. Wait for their response, and explanation.

Try not to get into phone call exchanges, as it will be difficult to keep evidence of them.

The creditor must be a financial institution? There are rules under the FSAs conduct of business which should prevent this from happening. Have you complained?

fermi

Aktiv were not the original creditor. They are telling fibs there as well. Aktiv are a debt buyer that buys up old defunct accounts from other parties. They do not lend themselves, so could never in a month of Sundays be the original creditor.

fermi

Write by recorded delivery stating that.

- You do not acknowledge the debt.

- You have previously written to dispute the status of the debt as it would be settled.

- You have previously written to inform them that the debt would be statute barred even if it was valid.

- They have ignored your disputes, and continued to make unjustified demands for payment.

- Their claim that Aktiv Kapital is the original creditor is spurious. Aktiv would have purchased the original account that was settled and for which you have provide proof of settlement.

- Their claim that the debt would not be statute barred due to a telephone conversation is false and deliberately intended to misrepresent the legal position. Under the Limitation Act 1980, acknowlegemnt must be be made in writing by the debtor and be signed by them. Nothing else counts.

- That regardless, if the debt was already statute barred then the act specifically states that "... a right of action, once barred by this Act, shall not be revived by any subsequent acknowledgment or payment."

- The debt is and remains statute barred, and any further attempt by them to mislead you regarding the legal position will be reported to the OFT and trading standards.

- Their previous harassment, false statements, and refusal to address legitimate disputes will be reported to the above.

- That this is now a formal complaint under the procedures of the Financial Ombudsman, so you require a copy of their complaints procedure and that they issue a "final response" that you can take to the ombudsman.

- Any further phone calls or letters demanding payment will be logged and reported to the OFT and Trading Standards.

- You require removal of all your phone numbers from their system.